This invention relates to a portable cooking griddle having a built-in serving/eating portion to enable guests to be served immediately adjacent the griddle.
Portable barbecue grills fired by pressurized hydrocarbon fuels are readily available from a wide range of manufacturers and retailers. However, such units are adapted solely for the cooking of products on a grill, defined herein as a large number of, usually, rods aligned parallel to one another and retained in their alignment by cross-members, resulting in a majority f open space through which heat from a burner element may be directed onto the food to be cooked. The cooking of many foods is impossible on such units, for it would fall into the open spaces between the grill rods. For instance, eggs, pancakes, stir-fry or Oriental dishes, etc., could not be cooked on conventional units. Conversely, conventionally-grilled food products (such as steaks) could be cooked on a griddle.
A review of the prior art indicates that there is no apparatus intended to serve the dual function of griddle/grill while providing a serving/eating unit therearound. An example of the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,763, wherein a mobile cooking unit having a griddle plate is moved into position in the interior of a U-shaped stationary table. It is intended that the food preparer stand on the side of the griddle away from the stationary table, with the prepared food being served onto the stationary table. U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,013 discloses a portable gas grill wherein a griddle plate is secured to removable legs, and a gas burner is located beneath the griddle and affixed to a gas tank. No means are provided for affixing a grill surface above the burner, or for providing means for guests to be served around the griddle. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,597 discloses a portable biomass stove having an air inlet, a fuel basket and reflecting members below a grate in the bottom of the fuel basket. One or more of the stoves can be suspended in a support housing to form a multi-burner stove.
None of the aforementioned devices provides the benefits of the present invention, namely portability, conversion between either a standard grill unit or a griddle, service/eating areas totally or substantially surrounding the cooking surface and ease of manufacture.